"The purpose of the systematic study of argument is to perfect natural technique and then practice it until the right arguments for each situation spring to mind spontaneously. The way to do this is not to learn some grand theory, any more than the athlete needs to understand the physiology in order to jump or run. The best way is to analyze the argumentative practice of others, to understand it, and then adapt it to your own circumstances." Nancy Mason Bradbury
Split groups into different pairs. Choose one member to come up and make a 1-minute argument. Try to include at least 3 logical fallacies. Here are the arguments:
"The purpose of the systematic study of argument is to perfect natural technique and then practice it until the right arguments for each situation spring to mind spontaneously. The way to do this is not to learn some grand theory, any more than the athlete needs to understand the physiology in order to jump or run. The best way is to analyze the argumentative practice of others, to understand it, and then adapt it to your own circumstances." Nancy Mason Bradbury
Required Reading:
All Things ArgumentHow to Write a Strong Argument PyramidCause and EffectHow to Write a Rhetorical AnalysisDifferences Between Literary Analysis (Criticism) and Rhetorical AnalysisExamples of Rhetorical Analyses
Argument Excercises
Definition
Francis Bacon "Of Studies "
Class "Of __________" Imitations
Anna Quindlen “Homeless” (definition and description)
- Becky Blanton The Year I was Homeless TED Talk Blanton describes her experience as a homeless woman
Peter Singer "The Poverty Solution"- Montgomery "The Island of Plenty"
Jo Parker "What is Poverty?"- TED talk Escaping Poverty
- Han Rosling on Poverty This link offers new insight on poverty through child survival and other statistics.
- TED - Opinions on Africa and Poverty - This is a link about how writing can effect opinions on poverty and Africa.
- TED Power of the mobile phone to end poverty
- Kiva.org - A Microloaning Site
Jacob Riis How the Other Half Lives: The Problem of the ChildrenElie Weisel "The Perils of Indifference" Speech with audio
Hillary Clinton "Remarks to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women" text and video
- TED talk Sheryl Wu Dunn Our Century's Greatest Injustice
- The Girl Effect
- The Girl Effect Parody
Sojourner Truth Ain't I a Woman SpeechPeggy McIntosh "White Privilege"
Yvonne Anderson “Why I Left Harvard Law School . . . and Why I Came Back Again”
Richard Wright "The Library Card"
Frederick Douglass "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro"
Patrick Henry "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death"
- Eddie Izzard "Cake or Death"
EB White "Freedom"Thomas Paine The Crisis
President Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech
- Article on President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech
Obama Afghanistan Surge SpeechHow to Detect Propaganda
Supplemental Reading:
JOHN F. KENNEDY, Inaugural Address (1961)
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, The Gettysburg Address (1863)
MARK TWAIN, Two Ways of Seeing a River (1883)
Supplemental Viewing:
Split groups into different pairs. Choose one member to come up and make a 1-minute argument. Try to include at least 3 logical fallacies. Here are the arguments: